We all know the benefits of having an engaged email marketing list – if not check out my blog post about why having an email list is a critical marketing tool for any business today.

Having an email list without an email marketing strategy behind it is pointless. The ultimate goal is to turn readers/subscribers into customers. You won’t do that if you don’t have an effective communication strategy in place. Sending out emails on a regular basis to your subscribers is a great way to keep them engaged, build your know, like and trust factor and ultimately turn them into paying customers.

When your designing your email marketing campaigns think about your subscriber’s interests and needs. That should be the focus of each and every email. Put yourself in their shoes, would you open this email? If the answer is no, go back and rework things a bit till that answer is yes!

SUBJECT LINE

The subject line of an email is often an afterthought. You spend all your time on the content and messaging that goes inside the email and then slap in any old subject line cause you just want to be done. Well unfortunately no one is going to see that awesome content if you don’t have an equally awesome subject line.

A good subject line should get your attention, be clear and to the point. You never want to mislead and promise something you can’t deliver on in your subject line. You do that and you ensure that that is the last email your subscribers will open from you.

Your subscribers are not the only ones checking out your subject line, ESP’s (Email service providers) like Gmail and yahoo also use what you have in your subject line to determine where your email will land. Your goal is to end up in your subscriber's inbox, not their spam folder.

To avoid showing up in someone's spam or junk folder keep these items in mind when coming up with that killer subject line:

Don’t capitalize your entire subject line

Avoid spammy words like “free”, “discount”, “save”, “make money”

DESIGN

Your email should be easy on the eye, it should flow well and have plenty of white space. We all have lots to say but if you try to cram it all into you one email it's going to look disorganized and cluttered, and let's face it you would close right out of an email like that.

What is the first thing you do when you open an email? If your anything like me (and most of the world today) is skim it. The highlights that you get while skimming will likely determine if you stick around and read it or click on it or just close out and move on.

Use titles, emphasize important text by making it bold or larger font and use appealing images to highlight your overall message.

Using color is a great way to get a subscribers attention and build brand recognition. What colors represent your brand? Try to use the same two to three colors in every email so that subscribers recognize you in their inbox.

Layout is another part of design that should remain fairly consistent from email to email. Create a template and stick with it. It will save you time and it will make it super easy for the subscriber to navigate your emails and find what they want and need.

Most email applications, such as MailChimp and convertkit, give you templates to work from. Take advantage of them, tweak them a bit and use your colors, images, logo and content to make it yours. Bonus: these services also ensure that your email is responsive and will look great if your subscriber opens it on their computer or mobile device.

CONTENT

I mentioned this earlier on but totally worth repeating. Make sure your content is serving the needs and interests of your subscribers. If you fill your email with fluff, your subscribers will get no value from it and will likely not open your next email.

When you think of email marketing you think text but don’t limit yourself to that. Make use of images, video, and audio. What's the best way to deliver your message?

Not sure what kind of content your subscribers are looking for? Jump into some Facebook groups where your target audience hangs out in and check out their questions, what are they talking about, what are their pain points? If you can survey a few people that you consider your target audience. Schedule in person or virtual coffee dates to chat and learn more about them.

CTA - CALL TO ACTION

What’s the point of the email? What do you want the subscriber to do once they open and read your email? Every email you send should have a purpose, if not let's go back up to the content section, is it just fluff?

Use buttons, hyperlinked text, images, social icons to get them to do what you need/want. Some commonly used calls to action are: “Click Here”, “Read More”, “Shop Now”, “Sign Up Here”, “Download”, “Listen Now”, “Watch Now”

Keeping each of these areas in mind when working on your emails will ensure that you keep your subscribers engaged and coming back for more. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Did you see open rates go up? How about your click-through rates? Did you get stuck in one of these areas? Leave a comment, I love to celebrate your successes and help with your pain points.